iPhone slow? Apple’s doing it on purpose to older devices, tech company admits

Feel like once there’s a shiny new Apple iPhone out, yours starts working less well?

You’re not alone, and though it has often been debunked that there is any change to the battery life when a newer model hits the market, Apple does actively influence the performance of your old phone in another way, it turns out.

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The shock revelation which might leave many an iPhone fan annoyed came after analyse of phone performances.

Apple admitted that it slows down some older phones on purpose, but says it’s to manage the performance of the phone’s battery, which gets worse over time.

Many people have been suspicious that their phone starts to function less well after the release of a new version, but a recent study for example, using data from more than 100,000 benchmark tests found only “minor variations within normal levels”.

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Here’s what the company had to say:

“Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, [when they] have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.

“Last year, we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions.

“We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future. Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers.”